The position is based in Zurich, Switzerland and reports directly to the Business Controller – B2S Land Operations.

The successful candidate will play a critical role in EF’s international operations organization, and is a strategic finance business partner to the business unit, the Business Controller, President of Operations and Head of Controlling to: 

Understand the tourism, travel and services industries and the macro-economic factors affecting it in order to be able to provide input to key stakeholders when defining strategic goals and planning for the future. Be an active member of the team providing analysis and insight to the business unit stakeholders in order to help enable data driven decision-making. Contribute to operational and financial control processes and functions – budgets, analysis, and reporting for one of EF’s largest divisions. Proactively seek and implement process improvement initiatives in areas of reporting as well as business planning. Ensure the right systems and controls are in place to run the business efficiently. 

Key responsibilities 

Budgeting and Forecasting: Accountability and partnership with other team members over the operations overhead and direct cost budgets. Help manage and coordinate quarterly and annual reviews of operations cost control, proposed investments and other special project initiatives with the Controller, operations team and senior management. Partner with operations team and management on all aspects of the business to support to understand actuals and future trends in real time.  Financial reporting: Assist, prepare and support team and business with financial reporting on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis, supporting the statutory close and external audit, participating in forecasting, variance analysis, and tracking of industry trends. Data Analytics & Technology: Help maintain custom database integrity and provide quality analytics to facilitate strategic decision-making. Support development of new reports and data extracts, and provide input and business knowledge to those setting strategies for new technologies and data structures to achieve efficiencies and productivity in reporting and analysis. Contracts & Negotiation: Monitor compliance with EF’s internal controls while ensuring that business priorities and terms and conditions are compliant. Own Initiatives & Innovation: Seek new ways of further developing an industry-leading non-hierarchical organization where entrepreneurial spirit and ownership are our lifeblood. Our motto is: ‘’Staying small while growing big’’. Requirements 2+ years of relevant accounting and/or business control. Financial planning and forecasting experience desirable. Strong analytical skills even in situations with uncertainty or imperfect information. Ability to understand the day-to-day detail as well as the big picture and also balance perfection with approximations, depending on the business need and use of the information. Proficiency in advanced Excel is required. SQL, Snowflake and Power BI and PowerApps skills are considered a plus. Self-starter with a positive can-do attitude, who can establish priorities and work independently – can see what needs to be done and gets it done. Candidate should thrive when working in a team environment with excellent collaboration and communication skills. Can balance the serious responsibility of this role with a sense of fun. Bachelor’s Degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Mathematics or other relevant Business field.Language Skills: Required Fluency in English. The successful candidate can look forward to international career opportunities in a fast growing, fun and innovative business that stays in the forefront any challenge it undertakes. We do things differently!